In a time where escapism can be self-evident, it's interesting to walk through Facts in Ghent. This is the biggest Belgian pop-culture fair, fantasy, comics, manga, Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, Star Trek, games, cosplay, table top gaming, etc.
Barring the highly commercial aspect, I got the vibe that this is an event by and for happy people. Ok, watching furries frolic in the open might not be the best thing for one's sanity, but there's smiles as far as the eye can see. It's refreshing to catch a glimpse of these alternate realities, given the bleak perspective ours has - with the economy in shambles and all.
It got me wondering. So what if it's time for a new world order? Why couldn't we make it in the shape of, for instance, the Star Wars universe? Scantily clothed women on chains, robes as everyday clothing, hover cars, helmets with fins on them, stormtroopers on the battlefields, bad guys dressed in black, good guys dressed in white, a moral system based on the greater good, sounds alright by me! Maybe this would be a society with a neatly designed look to it, finally an image we can display to the greater universe!
From left to right, people cosplaying as The Joker, me, naruto, a blonde porn actor.
I met comic artist John Mcrea, had a nice chat with the man. He was very enthusiastic talking about his craft, and I was genuinely impressed by his drawings. It's also the first time I've had to get my hands on some original frames of comic pages. His style, from what I saw at FACTS is somewhat exaggerated but quite clean, a closer look at his work revealed more realistic styles. Cool to see that one artist is this flexible. Do check out his work if you're interested in comics. Among others, he has done work for fan favorites such as Star Wars (dark horse) - he draws one sinister looking Darth Vader - Spider-Man (Marvel) and Batman (DC).
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